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At Essendon, it will be a case of the long and the short of it in 2019.

Having claimed former Fremantle ruckman Zac Clarke in the pre-season supplemental selection period (SSP) on Saturday, the Bombers will enter next season with 22 players 190cm or taller on their list, the equal-highest tally in the competition alongside Collingwood.

The addition of Clarke, 203cm, will also give them five players 200cm or taller, just one short of the League high of six held jointly by Carlton, Brisbane, Port Adelaide and St Kilda.

But if Essendon is well-placed to rule the air next season, it also has an arsenal of smalls itching to prey on any crumbs left by its giants.

The Bombers boast eight players who stand 179cm or shorter, equal first in the AFL alongside Fremantle. By comparison, reigning premier West Coast, Sydney and North Melbourne will each enter next season with just two players shorter than 180cm on their lists.

The newest member of the Bombers' small fleet is the aptly named Irving Mosquito, the 176cm goalsneak who was part of Hawthorn's Next Generation Academy but landed at Tullamarine after theHawks declined to match the Bombers' bid of pick No.38 in the NAB AFL Draft.

But if the Bombers can get the 2017 All Australian fit and firing their attack will have the focal point it lacked for most of 2018 – Mitch Brown was the leading goalscorer among the Bombers' key forwards last year with 18, way down on the career-high 65 Daniher kicked in 2017.

Winning the four-club race for Dylan Shielduring the NAB Trade Period will also make a big difference to Essendon's midfield.

But at 182cm, the former GWS star is not the inside beast – think Patrick Cripps, Nat Fyfe or Dustin Martin – the Dons have been crying out for.

After skipper Dyson Heppell (189cm), the members of Essendon's midfield core are all 180cm or shorter – Zach Merrett, Darcy Parish, David Zaharakis and Devon Smith (176cm).

Jake Stringer's first season at Tullamarine suggests the 192cm former Bulldog is a forward who can occasionally pinch-hit in the midfield.

And Andrew McGrath is a class act destined to eventually play on the ball, but at 178cm adds to the Dons' undersized midfield group.

Which makes David Myers and Kyle Langford, both 191cm, potentially important players for Essendon in 2019.

Myers was ranked joint first at the Bombers in 2018 for average clearances (4.9 a game, equal with Heppell) but injury troubles have meant he has played 20 games in a season just once in his career, in 2013.

Langford also took some significant strides this year, playing 16 games, including the last 14 straight.